


It's Traditional

by TheBraillebarian



Series: A Very Metal Christmas [1]
Category: Metalocalypse (Cartoon)
Genre: Christmas Lights, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:41:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28063362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBraillebarian/pseuds/TheBraillebarian
Summary: On a break night during their first winter tour, Pickles takes Toki to see something special.
Series: A Very Metal Christmas [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2055693
Comments: 8
Kudos: 18





	It's Traditional

**Author's Note:**

> First fill for the 12 Days of Dethmas: your favorite holiday tradition...Dethklok style!
> 
> This is in memory of my Grandma, who used to bundle us kids into the car and drive around to look at lights. 
> 
> It's not said outright but I have absolutely set this somewhere in Colorado. :D

“Toki!” Pickles yelled into the cramped hotel room. “Get a coat an' come ahn!”

Their new guitarist scooped Nathan's coat off the floor and promptly got lost in it. He was finally starting to fill out but the front man's clothes were big on everyone.

“Where are you going?” Nathan asked from the edge of one bed.

“Uh...to buy drugs prahbably?” Pickles shrugged, hurrying Toki out the door before more questions could be asked.

“Ams we goings to get drugs?” Toki asked in the sparsely decorated lobby.

Skwisgaar was chatting up the desk clerk and a member of maid service by the desk. Quickly Pickles shoved his younger band mate in the back.

“Yeah sure, just go!”

In the frigid parking garage Murderface was rummaging for something in their beat up rental van. With no fanfare, Pickles grabbed the bass player by the shoulders and hauled him out. Before the protests could begin in earnest he grabbed the nearest open duffel bag and dumped it in Murderface's arms before slamming the door.

“Picklesch what the fuck? I wasch looking for my...” Murderface began.

“Ain't got time fer yer bullshit, pal!” Pickles yelled from the driver's side. “Get in Toki, come ahn!”

“What'sch crawled up hisch assch?”

Toki shrugged helplessly before climbing into the passenger side and dutifully buckling his seat belt. The engine grumbled to life, muffled by the local rock station. As soon as the van exited the garage Pickles visibly relaxed. Without looking he spun the radio dial until cheery Christmas music filled the air.

“Thank gahd,” he sighed. “Thought we wouldn't make it outta there.”

“Um...” Toki sounded more than a little uneasy. “Where ams we going?”

“Oh, heh, yeah. You'll like this I prahmise!”

The dummer's glee did not fill Toki with confidence but he was already in a moving vehicle with the guy. He fidgeted with the over large sleeves of Nathan's coat as city street lights faded for more suburban darkness. Snow mounded around the sidewalks and the velvet mountain night reminded Toki of home but with a softness to it that eased his usual midwinter fears. The holiday music was alien but he was finding that he liked the cheer of it on the occasions it reached his ears.

In the driver's seat Pickles was looking downright gleeful. It wasn't the kind of cheer that preceded destruction or something being set on fire. There was a softness about the man, an aching nostalgia and Toki wondered what had brought it about. They drove in an increasingly comfortable silence.

“Oh! There's one!” Pickles cried suddenly, swerving the van into a quiet neighborhood. “Toki! Look out yer window!”

Bewildered, he did so and gasped. The van slowed almost to a stop as it passed a house strung all over with colored lights. They were in shades of red and green, twinkling white, dripping from the roof like icicles. Toki hadn't realized his face was pressed to the glass until he felt the burn of cold on his nose.

“Wowee,” he breathed.

“'Nother one comin' up ahn my side,” said his chauffeur.

The next house had an inflatable snowman in the yard and a collection of frankly disturbing plastic elves. Its neighbor was a riot of lights chasing themselves down strings of color. They wound through the neighborhood slowly, Pickles calling out which side to look from. Toki's eyes grew wider with each decorated home they passed, even those which only sported a single string of light in a dark window. By the end of the third street he felt like his eyes were seared with color enough to bleed into his bones. His cheeks were sore from smiling. 

“Pickle?” he asked meekly after they turned down another street.

“Yeah?”

“What ams all this?”

“It's Christmas lights, dood!”

He'd seen a few lights cropping up in the stores and had found himself brushing his fingers over them while waiting for whoever had their money to finish paying. Nobody had really explained the approaching holiday to Toki before their tour had begun. The tinsel and garlands springing up were intriguing and unfamiliar to his notion of winter festivities. On the winding way across the country, as snow began to appear outside their windows, Pickles would sometimes point out a light display only to be ignored by the group at large. Toki had seen him wistfully watch the glittering specks fade away, followed by the drummer taking an excessive drink of whatever was closest to hand.

“Yous likes them lights, ja?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Pickles seemed to be looking for something else now, the van winding back toward the city. “Used to go lookin' fer 'em with Gramma Dee when I was a kid. Was my favorite thing about Christmas.”

“Why's we nots takin' the other guys?”

Pickles shuddered, knuckles going white as he clenched the steering wheel. “Tried that last year. Never again.”

Street lights were swishing past their windows once again. Toki found himself already missing the glittering peace of the suburbs. A light snow was beginning to fall as they pulled to a stop on an unfamiliar street. Pickles hopped out of the van and waved Toki to follow. Uncertain, he stepped into the brisk chill.

“Hows you know where to go here?” he asked as they walked, breaths pluming in the air.

“Spent a lotta time out here years back. Kinda the home I never had.”

“This cities?”

He waved a hand expansively. “Whole damn state. Maybe I'll come back someday fer good.”

They walked side by side while Toki began to realize that he was still hearing holiday music somewhere. Pickles watched him discreetly as they rounded a corner and the younger man froze. Before them stretched a small park, every tree festooned with lights. At the far end a massive pine was draped from crown to base with strings of blue, purple, and green, a sparkling silver star at its top. Couples and small groups wandered the sidewalks. As if in a dream he let Pickles guide him toward a little stand where a smiling woman pressed a paper cup of hot cocoa into his slack hands.

“Yah doin' alright, pal?” Pickles said as he added some extra flavor to his cocoa from a pocket flask.

“Ams...” Toki swallowed hard and tried to focus on the hot drink in his shaking hands. “Ams never seeings anything likes this before.”

The wistful look was back but Pickles was smiling. “I was hopin' you'd like it.”

"I loves it," he sniffed, hurriedly wiping his eyes on a coat sleeve. “Ams beautifuls...”

“Come ahn, let's get a closer look.”

They meandered into the forest of light side by side, steam rising from warm drinks and smiling lips.

**Author's Note:**

> I yell about this show and sometimes post art at [metalrat](http://metalrat.tumblr.com).


End file.
